That expression, "Only God knows"?

Believe it!

Only He does.

Can you imagine what God sees, what God hears, what God knows?

Of course not.

No one can come close to imagining.

It's fascinating, however, to try.

When you're on a trip, remember that God knows every single person and family and pet in each farmhouse, in each hamlet, in each village you pass, and every person in every apartment and on every street and at every desk in Manhattan. He knows their trials. He knows their struggles. Knows their triumphs, scandals. He knows every single thing about them and watches every single interaction and hears every thought -- every single one, anticipates them. (That's amazing!) He knows every flea on every dog and every electron in every speck of dust or flake of snow and could instantly tell you how many specks of dust there are in a house and in the galaxy.

If you're on a boat, think of this: God sees every single fish, every turtle, every crab below you and knows exactly where the biggest is and what the biggest there ever was and ever will be.

He knows if there are alligators in the dark-tea water below kayaks in Florida. Ones thinks of this as one paddles. He is also watching every bacterium. He knows how many mosquitoes are in the air and even Scripture tells us He knows every feather. He (and He only) knows what the largest animal was; where the largest whale is swimming; how many sharks are left; (how dolphins actually think).

He knows.

We speculate.

Said the Pope the other day: "The liturgy is the time of God and space of God, and we must put ourselves there in the time of God, in the space of God, and not look at our watches. The liturgy is nothing less than entering into the mystery of God, allowing ourselves to be carried to the mystery and to be in the mystery. It is the cloud of God that envelops us all."

When you're driving down a highway -- say, I-95 on the East Coast, I-405 in California, I-10 in the South -- think of who has traveled that same road through the years: each with a story; the "stars"; the hoodlums; the unknown saints, without our having a clue who's passing us or who we are passing.

Only God knows.

Only God knows who's in the car next to you.

Only God knows who will be a priest.

Only God knows how long your car engine will last.

Only God knows what the person who smiles at you is thinking (hopefully it's sincere!).

Only He knows what the president really thinks.

In an airport: God is watching every person, every schedule, every concern, every crew member, which is quite impressive, considering that there are 14,980 airports in the U.S. and Canada alone. Every part on every plane.

More impressive: He's involved with every atom and fractal in every inch of a universe which we think (but really could never know) has 170 billion galaxies.

Now consider: each of those alleged 170 billion galaxies is guesstimated to have (each) between ten million and a hundred trillion stars.

Stars have planets.

Planets have moons.

That's the observable universe...

Did you ever stop to think how much time and money our scientists spend attempting to estimate?

He can swoop down and instantly count every grain of wheat, of salt, of sand.

How could anyone not praise Him?

He knows the total intricacies of the lives of everyone on your block, in your community, in your city.

Only He knows what's more than several miles beneath our feet.

Only God knows  what's at the center of the earth.

Only God knows how the sun is actually powered (that's right: even that is controversial with our scientists).

Only God knows all the spirits around us.

Only He could count the angels.

Isn't it amazing how little credit we give Him, for what He knows?

Which is every tiniest detail about everyone and everything and also about the endless eternities that go beyond earthly death and are so vast it will take us eternity to explore them.

That's exciting.

Only He understands how there could be no beginning or end!

Only He understands how it can be endless. One day, we'll explore it together.

We'll have "eternities" to do that.

Instead of tearful last sorrows our parting words to deceased loved ones might better be: Bon voyage. See you soon and forever.

--Michael H. Brown

[see also: How to enter the time and space of God]

[resources: The God of Miracles and A Life of Blessings]

[Photo at top is by Martin Pugh]